About
Elisa Torres Durney founded Girls in Quantum at age 16 in Chile, growing the organization into a community of over 30,000 members across 60+ countries that has reached more than 8,500 students through specialized quantum education and mentorship programs. She has spoken at more than 50 international venues including the United Nations, UNESCO, and TEDx, and her work has been recognized by the UNESCO Quantum 100, named a Global Student Prize Top 10 finalist, and featured in outlets including CNN, Forbes, and Nature. Torres Durney is an engineering student at Duke University and serves as a STEM advisor at UNESCO.
Experience
- Girls in QuantumFoundercurrent2022 — present
- QAI VenturesVenture Builder & Accelerator Interncurrent2026 — presentBasel, Switzerland
- UNESCOSTEM Advisorcurrent2025 — present
- startuplab.01Advisorcurrent2026 — present
- Self EmployedPublic Speaker - Global Tech, Quantum Computing & STEM Educationcurrent2021 — present
- Duke MEMSStudent Advisorcurrent2025 — present
- Duke University Pratt School of EngineeringElectrical Engineering Research Assistant at I^3T Lab2026
- AppleNext-Gen Innovators Mentorship2025 — 2026United States
- Goldman Sachs2025 Engineering Possibilities Summit Trainee2025
- Duke UniversityAdvisor for the Office of University Scholars and Fellows2024 — 2025United States
- G100: Mission MillionCountry Chair STEM Education - Women Economic Forum2023 — 2025Chile
- Swiss Cyber Security DaysAdvisory Board Member2024 — 2025Berne, Switzerland
- KIDsforSDGsSDG Changemaker2022 — 2025
- Kode With KlossyData Science Scholar2024
- QiskitQiskit Spanish Fall Fest Organizer2023
- Stanford UniversityResearch Intern2023
- The New York Academy of SciencesYoung Researcher2022 — 2023
- The New York Academy of SciencesMentee 1000 girls 1000 futures2022 — 2023
- TED ConferencesSpeaker2023La Paz, Bolivia
- Consejo CTCIAdvisory Committee Member2023Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile
- Cambridge Centre for International ResearchCambridge Future Scholar Researcher2022 — 2023Online
- Academia InspiradasIncubator Mentee2022
- Academia Biotecnología AgrícolaStudent Researcher2022Chile
- Universidad Adolfo IbáñezResearch Internship2022Chile
- Chicas en TecnologíaConectadas: Program Mentee2021Chile
Skills & more
Attention to Detail5Oral Communication6Interpersonal Communication3Analytical Skills4Communication4Team Leadership14Critical Thinking10Problem Solving9Teamwork7Leadership6Organizational skills6Creativity Skills7
+12 more
Program ManagementComputingEngineeringArduino3D PrintingPresentationsCoachingSocial MediaProject ManagementEntrepreneurshipLeadership DevelopmentOrganizaciones sin ánimo de lucroLanguages English · French · German · Spanish
- Communicating Science for Policy — National Science Policy Network
- Innovation Strategy — Goldman Sachs
- Speaker Girl Up x United Nations — Girl Up
- Fundamentals of Customers and Competition — Goldman Sachs
- Fundamentals of Negotiation — Goldman Sachs
- Fundamentals of Sales and Marketing — Goldman Sachs
- Fundamentals of Leadership — Goldman Sachs
- Fundamentals of Funding — Goldman Sachs
- Fundamentals of Business Finance — Goldman Sachs
- Grow your Business — Goldman Sachs
From Elisa's professional profile.
Colleagues at QAI Ventures
Alexandra Beckstein
CEO and Founder at QAI Ventures
Anca Albu
Chief Operations Officer at QAI Ventures
Angelina Frank
Head of Science & Technology APAC at QAI Ventures
Anton Wendeborn
Events & Office Manager at QAI Ventures
Arianna Maschietto
Managing Director Calgary & Global Head of Value Creation Startups at QAI Ventures
Axel Thierauf
General Partner at QAI Ventures
Ayla Shahid
Startup Program Manager at QAI Ventures
Dr. Axel Thierauf
General Partner at QAI Ventures
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Elisa Torres Durney?
- Elisa Torres Durney founded Girls in Quantum at age 16 in Chile, growing the organization into a community of over 30,000 members across 60+ countries that has reached more than 8,500 students through specialized quantum education and mentorship programs. She has spoken at more than 50 international venues including the United Nations, UNESCO, and TEDx, and her work has been recognized by the UNESCO Quantum 100, named a Global Student Prize Top 10 finalist, and featured in outlets including CNN, Forbes, and Nature. Torres Durney is an engineering student at Duke University and serves as a STEM advisor at UNESCO.
- Where does Elisa Torres Durney work?
- Elisa Torres Durney is Intern Accelerator & Venture Builder at QAI Ventures.
- Where did Elisa Torres Durney go to school?
- Elisa Torres Durney studied at Duke University (Bachelor of Science in Engineering - BSE, Electrical & Computing Engineering); University of Oxford (Artificial Intelligence, Ethics & Philosophy); Frontier Technology Institute (Quantum Computing).
Same school
Also attended Duke University522
Fred EhrsamCo-founder and Senior Advisor at Paradigm; founder of NudgeJeremy LevinePartner at Bessemer Venture PartnersZach PerretCo-founder & CEO of Plaid; co-founder of MischiefJulie YangVice President at InvestcorpScott RaneyManaging Director at Redpoint VenturesJack Bixby LucasGeneral Partner at Lucas Venture Group
+ 516 more
Also attended Yale Young Global Scholars10
Justin SwartPartner at Bitkraft Esports VenturesFaruk OztokOperations | Venture Fellow at 212Cosima PaulInvestor at PICUS CAPITALClarissa BarquistInvestor at Goodwater CapitalElvia PerezAssociate at Las Olas Venture CapitalTracy LiuSenior Associate at M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund)
+ 4 more
Also attended Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile133
Ilan CedillosHead of Communications at Uncork CapitalAntonia Rojas EingFounder & Managing Partner at ATTOM CAPITALSebastian KreisVenture Partner & IC Member at ATTOM CAPITALGabriel GurovichIC Member at ATTOM CAPITALJordi VidalPartner at Kibo VenturesMichael HennesseyVenture Partner at Driven
+ 127 more
Shared employers
Also worked at startuplab.012
Also worked at Apple489
Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockJim BreyerFounder & CEO of Breyer CapitalDaniel GrossMeta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDG and Safe SuperintelligenceSteve JurvetsonCo-founder of Future VenturesKai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AISteve WozniakCo-founder of Apple
+ 483 more
Also worked at Goldman Sachs1,505
Josh KushnerFounder & CEO of Thrive CapitalSarah GuoFounder & General Partner of ConvictionFred EhrsamCo-founder and Senior Advisor at Paradigm; founder of NudgeMatt HuangCo-founder and Managing Partner at ParadigmDavid VélezFounder & CEO of NubankTarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of Kalshi
+ 1,499 more
